Optimizing Higher Ed Real Estate

Higher education institutions face growing pressure to manage sprawling campus footprints efficiently while controlling operational costs and adapting to shifting student schedules. Without accurate, continuous occupancy analytics data, university leaders are often forced to make massive capital expenditure and building expansion decisions based on assumptions rather than actionable insights.

Nova Southeastern University (NSU) tackled this challenge head-on by leveraging Lambent’s spatial intelligence platform. By integrating existing campus Wi-Fi and sensor data, NSU Florida gained continuous visibility into building and room usage. This data-first approach enabled leadership to optimize underutilized spaces, reallocate resources effectively, and ultimately avoid $100 million in unnecessary capital expansion and operational costs.

What attendees can expect to learn:

• Uncover Hidden Space Capacity: Learn how to accurately measure actual vs. perceived campus space utilization across classrooms, common areas, and facilities.
• Capital Cost Avoidance: Discover how NSU Florida leveraged data to avoid $100 million in expansion and maintenance expenses.
• Data-Driven Operations: Strategies for combining existing IT infrastructure (like Wi-Fi) with spatial analytics without needing costly hardware overhauls.
• Cross-Department Alignment: How facilities, finance, and academic leadership can collaborate using a single source of truth for campus usage.
• Actionable Next Steps: Practical frameworks for conducting space audits and building a business case for space optimization at your institution.